Page 39 of I Ran Away to Evil 2
“And the stoneskin wombat?” I asked, intrigued.
She smiled. “Two down, one to go. I should prepare!”
Bronwynn dropped the reins and let Donna drive herself—or should I say, the minstrel gave up theappearanceof driving. Donna seemed perfectly capable of getting wherever we needed to go, and we all knew it. Meanwhile, the bard took off her red bag and placed it beside her, then she slung her instrument forward on its shoulder strap, ready to play.
The beautiful lyre harp strummed a perfect note under the skilled minstrel’s fingers. Bronwynn and I both appreciated the sound. She sang the opening to one of her more popular pieces, “One More Song to Go”:
The leaves are changing color and
The river’s running cold
And there’s hearth that’s waiting for me.
Somewhere down this road
There’s rhythm in my footsteps
And there’s music in my soul
And I’ve at least, one more song to go.
“I miss Suzette every day,” she confessed. I’d been there at the breakfast table when Henrietta and Keith presented her with the new instrument. “But Danielle has a lovely sound. And she rarely goes out of tune, which is a blessing. I still like to keep a tuning key on me at all times, though … just in case.”
“It sounds lovely,” I said, trying to hide my excitement.
“Thank you.” She smiled, and then considered. “Alright, so after a monster encounter and a powerful person seeking aid, my third encounter will probably include someone with ulterior motives, nefarious intent, or something equally unsavory. Or maybe we’ll just run into Gerda and have to answer a riddle!”
The gates of Thistlecrick were guarded by two armored naga warriors holding halberds. They waved us through, and the road outside was free of traffic. We had a short distance to go to descend through the winding path to the Great Road.
“I’ve never crossed Gerda’s troll bridge. I admit I’ve been portaling around the Dark Enchanted Forest more than I’ve been taking the roads,” I said. There was no way I’d make it to Bronwynn’s performances if I ran all day to the border. It was a few days by alligator-dog if I went with the army, which also didn’t work.
Luckily, Gimtak the imp had a high-level teleport skill and a love for money. I suspected healsoloved the sight of me on my hands and knees crawling through an imp-size portal.
“You’ve never crossed a troll bridge?” Bronwynn asked, a touch incredulous. She plucked a light ayre on the instrument. “Even growing up in the Dark Enchanted Forest?”
I shrugged. “I traveled with a dragon. There used to be one on the bridge up the north road, but Larry the Bridge Troll only had theoneriddle.”
She stared at me expectantly.
I coughed, trying to remember it correctly.
“When I am forward,
I’m heavy, a lot.
But when I am backward,
You know I’m not.”
CHAPTER 20
It Was a Spectacle!
Brownie
Brownie’s brows squished in deep thought. She even momentarily stopped playing a tune to tap her chin twice.
“The trick is if the riddle contains a silentk,” she mused, “making it a type of knot, or it’s a heavy backwardsnot… I think … the second. So my answer would be ‘a ton’?”
